CAROL LINK: Use plastic mesh baskets to protect bulbs from small animals

By Carol LinkSpecial to The Times

Wednesday

Feb 12, 2014 at 10:28 AMFeb 12, 2014 at 10:32 AM

Q: Last summer, I saw chipmunks running all over my yard. I’ve been told that chipmunks will eat all the bulbs in my yard. I planted a large number of daffodil bulbs last year, now I’m getting worried that they may not come up. How can I keep chipmunks from eating my bulbs? Do you have any suggestions?

Q: Last summer, I saw chipmunks running all over my yard. I’ve been told that chipmunks will eat all the bulbs in my yard. I planted a large number of daffodil bulbs last year, now I’m getting worried that they may not come up. How can I keep chipmunks from eating my bulbs? Do you have any suggestions?

A: Just recently, I read that the way to keep small chipmunks, moles and voles from eating bulbs and corms is to use the plastic mesh baskets in which strawberries and blueberries are packaged to plant the bulbs. The suggestion was to plant the bulbs in the hole and place the plastic basket upside-down on top of the bulb, then fill the hole with soil, covering the basket and bulb. The flowers and stems are supposed to grow through the holes in the basket, but the rodents and chipmunks can’t find a way into the basket to get to the bulbs.

Q: I can’t ever remember the difference in annuals and a perennial. Do annual flowers come back annually (each year), or must they be planted annually (each year)? Must perennials be planted perennially (forevermore) or do they last perennially? These terms are confusing.

A: Annuals are flowers that cannot survive the frigid temperatures of winter in this area. They are planted for one season. Perennials are hardy flowers that are able to survive cold temperatures. They are planted once. With most perennials, the above-ground portion of the plant dies, but the root system survives to return year after year. Annuals are planted annually. Perennials return for more than two years, for several years — perennially.

Q: What does the term “espalier” mean? I have read that fruit trees can be espaliered. I’ve seen pictures of a tree that has been espaliered, but I don’t understand how it’s done. Can you explain the method to me? Can you tell me how to say the word?

A: I believe the word “espalier” is French; the word is pronounced “is-pal-yea.” It is a method of pruning and training fruit trees or other plants to grow flat against a wall, fence or trellis, or along a wire. Almost any kind of plant can be espaliered — a grape or muscadine vine, a rose, or even a shrub.

Q: For the past two years, a big, ugly bug has been killing my squash plants. Do you know what kind of bug it is and do you know how to prevent it from killing my squash again this summer?

A: The bug most likely is a squash bug. A squash bug is an ugly, oblong bug, about 1⁄4 inch in length. The front (or head) of the bug is pointed. It kills the squash vine and damages the fruit.In spring, the bug lays eggs on squash foliage. After your squash is planted, check the foliage for a mass of hard, brown eggs beneath the leaves of the plant. Remove the leaves and destroy the eggs to prevent the bug from multiplying.The chemical Sevin is effective, but treating the plant early before fruit develops works best because the entire plant must be treated.

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